Perplexity, an artificial intelligence search company, has entered into a licensing agreement spanning multiple years with Getty Images, allowing the startup to showcase Getty's image collection within its AI-driven search and exploration platforms.

This agreement represents a significant change for Perplexity, which has faced accusations of unauthorized content extraction and copying, and demonstrates the company's commitment to forming legitimate content collaborations.

Reports indicate that Perplexity and Getty have maintained a collaborative relationship for over a year. While this partnership was not publicly disclosed, Getty participated in Perplexity's Publishers' Program, an initiative designed to distribute advertising revenue with content creators when their material appears in search results.

Also Read: India to Diversify the Semiconductor Supply Chain through Semicon 2.0

The partnership between Perplexity and Getty seems to validate certain aspects of the startup's earlier utilization of Getty's stock imagery. Over the past year, Perplexity has faced criticism due to multiple allegations of plagiarism from various news outlets. In a particular incident, the company was criticized for extracting material from a Wall Street Journal story, which included a Getty image from that article.

According to Perplexity, the Getty partnership will enhance its ability to present images more effectively and ensure proper attribution by including credits that link to the sources when images appear in search results.

Also Read: The Quantum Computing Age is Upon US Sooner than Expected

Nick Unsworth, vice president of strategic development at Getty, said the agreement “acknowledges the importance of properly attributed consent and its value in enhancing AI-powered products.”

“Attribution and accuracy are fundamental to how people should understand the world in an age of AI,” Jessica Chan, head of content and publisher partnerships at Perplexity, said in a statement.

“Together, we’re helping people discover answers through powerful visual storytelling while ensuring they always know where that content comes from and who created it,” says Jessica.

Also Read: AI Insurgence Perforating New Chapter in Academia

Perplexity's focus on providing source attribution serves as a key component of its defense strategy against copyright infringement claims, as the company contends that its utilization of publisher material — encompassing paywalled content and material that publishers have specifically marked as off-limits to scraping — falls under "fair use" protections since factual information available to the public cannot be subject to copyright.